In much of my life, I want things a certain way. I want my clothes stored in a certain location based on purpose, and the list goes on. Confessions of a Raging Perfectionist addresses such a lifestyle.

Amanda Jenkins takes you through her struggle with having everything perfect, and the change God is working in her life to stop fitting her life to a mold that if will not fit in. She shares personal struggles, like having the house in perfect order, even with young children, so that guests see what a house “should” look like. With each area she shares, she tells how God is dealing with it, and teaching her to rely on Him, not herself.

Admitting that it is hard, but very much worth it, she bares her life so that others who face a similar struggle may benefit from what she has learned. She shares Bible verses that have helped, or even hit her upside the head, and tells how they made her realize her struggle is not what God had planned.

I liked her take on struggling with perfection, as I struggle with it myself. It is geared more towards women, something I did not realize until it was too late. However, men struggle with perfectionism, too, and much of what Amanda Jenkins writes applies to us. Reading about what she has faced shows me that I’m not alone in wanting things just right, but that God has a different idea of just right. Knowing that I will not achieve the perfection I seek is one thing, accepting it is something entirely different. I believe all of us, whether a raging perfectionist or a weekend warrior perfectionist, need to hear the message in this book.

I received a free copy of Confessions of a Raging Perfectionist from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for this review. If you would like to see more about the book, here is a link to chapter one, and a Q&A with Amanda Jenkins.